Dance of The Swan
by embren
Summary: Alphard Black is at the critical time of his life where he begins to question the concept of "purity" that his family emulates so much and how society treats him. Feeling as though he can trust no one to friend him in fear they only wish for his wealth and status, Alphard somehow discovers a young Witch through this storm and for the first time, feels he can be himself.
1. The Fleeting Beauty

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for supporting me in "Disturbingly Loving." As a thank you I wrote this new story to keep you entertained. I would love to know what you all think of it, whether or not I should continue. Worry not, I will continue with my original story, it's just honestly fun to create stories for all these characters no one knows about from the harry Potter Series. It's like full free reign, only better, I don't have to come up with the names or the time line.

Please, enjoy!

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Alphard was all but a simple man when it came to the life of wizardry and magic. He wasn't the type for extravagance, fancy parties or rich tasting foods. This was much to the disappointment of his family, that family being the house of Black. One of the largest, oldest and wealthiest pure-blooded wizarding families in Britain and one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, the Black family name all but represented elevated status and wealth. they were considered the elite of the elite, priding themselves on being one of the purest, it was taken so seriously that even their own family crest had the motto " _Toujours Pur_ " engraved into it.

"Always pure..." Alphard mumbled to himself with dread as his eyes laid upon the family crest by the tapestry room.

"Alphard, what are you doing in here for?"

Alphard's bright grey eyes turned his attention to the door to see his Cousin Orion at the door, gazing at him with questionable eyes.

"Getting a good look at the house before we leave." Alphard responded with a curt smile.

Orion walked into the tapestry room and stood beside Alphard, he too taking a good look at the room.

"Sometimes it amazes me how bad some of us look on this blasted thing." Orion joked. "See, they got your nose wrong and I look like my eyes are crossed." He observed, pointing at each of their faces on the cloth.

Alfred snorted at his comment.

"yeah and Walburga looks as though she has a sagging neck." Alfred replied, pointing to his older sisters portrait.

Orion burst out laughing.

"Better not tell her that or she'll hex you." He said patting him on the back. "Come on dear cousin of mine, we need to get a move on or we'll miss that blasted train."

"I understand, I'll meet you down there in a bit. Just give me a few more minutes, okay?" Alphard replied, peeling his hand off him.

"Fine, fine, but if there is no more cauldron cakes left in the kitchen it's your fault!" Orion said, relenting as he exited the room.

Alfred rolled his eyes at his cousins remark, turning his head back to the tapestry yet again and deeply examining it.

This room, he hated it more than anything. This legacy that his family was so proud of was the bane of his very existence. However, because this room was never used it was his only place for him to think quietly to himself without much disturbance. Unlike his older sister Walburga, his younger brother Cygnus and second cousin Orion who found Hogwarts dull and a chore, Alphard found it to be an escape, a place he could be himself.

He breathed in and out deeply, gazing at the family crest once more. He glared at it and spat at the damn thing, cursing it with all his being. Satisfied, he strode out of the room with ease and descended down the stairs to family drawing room where the rest of the Black family was waiting to say their goodbyes.

He approached his family all with ease, obviously used to the curt formality. Alphard immediately changed his stance to a more upright position to be perceived as dignified. He saw his mother, Irma Black with his father, Pollux Black sitting down on separate chairs in the drawing room. Standing next to his mother was his older sister who was all but giggling to her mother of some new gossip she heard of. His younger brother Cygnus III was sprawled on the couch taking a nap with a book over his head, sleeping soundly. Obviously Alphard was all not interested in this and turned his attention to his grandfather, Cygnus Black II. He was a white haired sharp old man who looked to his family with love but always showed it in very strange ways. Alphard gave him a polite nod of the head, to which he responded in turn yet he smiled dotingly to him, for Alphard was apparently his favorite. Orion was in the corner of the room speaking to his sister Druella who was reserved with cold black eyes unlike Orion who was all jokes and playful.

"You are looking well, Alphard." His grandfather said to him. "Ready for another year at school?"

"Always, I look forward to the new lessons." Alphard replied in tow.

"Good, good. Maybe this time you'll bring back a potential suitor to meet the family, eh? You're of the right age to start thinking of girls." He cackled to himself.

"As long as her blood is true and her house status up to par then by all means, yes, find yourself a girl Alpahrd." His mother chimed in smiling.

Alfred tightened his fist but relaxed it.

"Unfortunately grandfather I have not seen a woman who is up to the family standards."

His father laughed.

"Like a true Black! No woman could match unless they shone as brightly as our own family. Well said my son." He laughed while taking out his pipe.

Orion looked to his cousin, noticing Alphard was tense and turned his attention to Walburga.

"Walburga, what was that delightful story you were just telling before? I was so interested, do tell more." He insisted. Orion sister looked to him with confusion.

"You were just telling me Walburga was an annoying cun-" Orion kicked her slightly to make her shut up.

"You'll just have to hear about it on the train. It's time you should all be going. We already assigned an automobile to take you to the station." Mother Irma replied. She got up and outstretched her arms like a mother hen.

"Now come here and give your mother a goodbye hug, all over you!" She said happily.

Alphard shook Cygnus awake and dragged him over his mother who was already hugging Walburga goodbye.

"My darlings, you make me so proud! Send me plenty of letters while you're over at school. Listen to your professors and be sure to do all your homework." She said, kissing the heads of all three of them.

"Yes, mother." All three chimed dully.

"Don't smother them, woman." Their father huffed. Irma let go and Walburga went to their father and kissed his cheek while Alphard and Cygnus shook his hand professionally. The same was applied to their grandfather.

As Alphard shook his grandfathers hand goodbye he pulled him closer and gave him a hug, ruffling his hair.

"Send me plenty of letters, you know how much I love our correspondence." The old man crooned.

"Yes grandfather." Alfred said with a smile.

The young Blacks departed from their home in a timely fashion, riding the automobile towards Kings Cross Station filled with trunks and their owls alike. The whole group sat together in complete silence. Walburga was gazing out the window, Druella was sewing, Cygnus continued his nap by resting against the door, Orion was reading and Alphard looked out the opposite window of the car. He breathed onto the card window till it became clouded and drew pictures with his forefinger on it.

Alphard was pretty damn thankful for the silence.

It wasn't as if they didn't like each other, no, they were family. The group just honestly couldn't wait to be with their own pack of friends for once. One summer close together and they were all more or less sick of each others company. When they finally arrived to the station they quickly left the automobile, ignoring their bags for it was already to be taken care of by the servants of the house. They maneuvered their ways through the many hundreds of muggles getting inside and going outside KingsCross. They all had the common goal of going somewhere, they were no exception. The Blacks simply had to get to their platform, yet every year it was proven to be a hassle. This was especially apparent with Walburga who took up the family's negative opinion of Muggles. She had her nose turned up toward the air, trying her best to not even be touched by one as if they were a disease.

"They ought to make a special entrance available for us Witches and Wizards, why do we have to mingle ourselves with these Mud-bloods and muggles." She said haughty.

"Because we must blend in with society Walburga, have you already forgotten Magical Law?" Druella replied dryly.

"You'll just have to bare with it, besides, I can see the track, we're almost there anyway." Cygnus said while yawning, pointing toward the famous column nine and ten."

"Just how much sleep did you get last night away Cygnus?" Orion asked. "you look like a wreck."

"Couldn't sleep, was reading a good book and couldn't put it down." he replied.

"I know what thats like. What book was it?" Alphard chimed in.

"Swan Lake." Cygnus replied.

"… never heard of it." Orion said, perplexed.

"Yeah of course you wouldn't. It's a muggle book." he said back.

"A muggle book? How did you get that into the house without the elves finding it and telling mum?" Orion said, shocked.

"I have my ways…." Cygnus mumbled.

"What was the book about?" Alphard asked, curious.

"It's about a princess that get's turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse."

"Ooooh a fairy tale." Orion said excitedly.

"What happens? Is it good?" Alphard asked, a smile adorning his face.

Cygnus picked up on his older brothers excitement and curiosity. He smirked slightly and rummaged through his bag and pulled out the book, handing it to him.

"It's a great book, I fully recommend it. I just finished it last night so you can have it." He said, placing the book in his hands.

Alfred gazed at the books cover with interest. He was quickly taken in by the gold illustration of a ballerina, a type of dance that was famous among Muggles and Wizards alike.

"Read it on the train ride over, it will give you something to do." Cygnus said to him before he departed through the column. Alphard turned his attention back to the real world, realizing he was last to go through as the others already went ahead of him. He quickly focused and walked right through the column and emerged onto platform 9 3/4 with complete ease. Alphard could not see his family so he guessed they already found their friends and split ways. Alphard adjusted himself by straightening his jacket. He looked around and very easily was able to spot Orion in the distance.

Alphard, relieved, walked in a faster pace over to his cousin. Only as he grew closer to his cousin he noticed more people were surrounding him. The one that particularly caught his eye was Abraxas Malfoy, this made Alphard immediately regret his actions and wished he retreated immediately.

"Ah, Alphard. Good to see you." Abraxas replied cooly, slightly bowing in respect.

"Abraxas." Alphard replied in acknowledgment with a curt nod.

"Couldn't find your group I see." Orion said with a smirk.

"I'll find them sooner or later." he waved off as no big deal.

"Oh well. Any news on your end Malfoy? Your summer treat you well?" Orion asked.

"Oh you know, same as usual I suppose. I was able to visit the Lestrange family and travel to Brighton beach during August. Other than that though I would say it was quite uneventful." Abraxas's eye then caught on to the book Alphard was holding in his hand.

"What might that be, Alphard? Is that a muggle book I spy?" He said with a smirk.

"And if it is?" Alphard said almost tight-lipped.

"Nothing, nothing at all. Just didn't expect a member of the house of Black to have such uncouth interests is all." he said chuckling.

Alphard glared but cooly shook the book in Malfoy's face passively.

"Just a fairy tail, no more as fantastical and dreamy as The Tales of Beedle the Bard." He replied in short comparison. "If you ask me this one looks better." He said as a challenge.

Abraxes, clearly not amused, smacked the book away from his face and turned away from Alphard and back to Orion.

"I'll see you back at our car compartment Orion. Good day, Alphard." He said to there Other Black icily as he strode away.

Orion pat his cousin on the back, shaking his head.

"Look, I know you don't like him, heck I don't like the little weasle either, but we gotta keep up with formalities." He sighed.

"He needs us more than we need him though. It's stupid to keep up such a friendship." Alphard simmered.

"Yes, but we need allies more than enemies. Remember that." Orion replied cooly.

While touching the side of his nose with his forefinger before leaving him, Orion eyed Alphard in a way that could easily be translated to "watch yourself." a clear warning not to lose his cool.

Alphard nodded as an apology, watching his cousin depart back into the train to find Abraxas.

Alphard sighed, he knew he was in the wrong but just the mere presence of that blonde made him want to hit him. The strapping young Black turned his attention to the nearest train car entrance and guided himself inside to find a car by himself, this time to seek solitude.

With wealth and status alone, Alphards mere presence alerted most of the wizarding community. So as he found himself an empty car easily and none dared to enter it when they took notice as to who he was. This was honestly one of the few things the young Slytherin was thankful for, people have a tendency to leave you alone the more powerful you become. Though then again Solitude did in fact suit his since it was his name after all. Alphard was the brightest star in the constellation Hydra, and is known as the heart of the serpent. Its name is derived from Arabic meaning "The Solitary one."

Coincidence that his name signified how social he was, probably. However, destiny or not he knew he felt better in the company a few close friends or by himself than he was with a party he only sort of knew. He just couldn't adjust the way Orion could, he wasn't gifted at being a social butterfly and hiding emotions the way he could with such a smile.

Alphard cleared his conscious though. Leaving behind his bitter thoughts in favor of opening the fairytale given to him; when the train began to move away from the station and to their destination was when he decided to dive into the tale. He opened the beautiful leather book with gold imprinted illustrations of the dancer and gazed even more at beautiful illustrations of swans and a beautiful german castle on the beige colored pages. Every page was illustrated with beautiful drawings of dancers, characters of differnt colors and shapes and graceful swans that looked as though they could fly off the page. He could not contain his excitement any longer, he quickly dived into the world of imagination and read the whole tale throughout the train ride over.

"Once upon a time In an old German castle, the birthday of Prince Siegfried was being celebrated; tfor he had come of age. He was congratulated by his mother, the Princess Mother, friends and courtiers in a majestic

ceremony. Siegfried was made a knight and from that day on a sense of duty, valor would be the guiding principles in his life. The last toasts were pronounced in his honor, young girls, his contemporaries, all try in vein to attract his attention, but Siegfried is overcome by emotions of a different order. He dreams of a pure, ideal love. The festivities draw to an end, the guests depart, leaving the prince alone with his thoughts in the gathering dusk. As night falls, Siegfried is conscious of the presence of a shadow at his side, it is as if some mysterious force is beckoning to him. It is the Evil Genius, or Fate itself, who has come to reveal some perturbing secrets to the Prince. Submitting to the powerful pull of his invisible companion's presence and full of anxious foreboding, Siegfried succumbs to the ideal world of his dreams...

Lured by the Evil Genius, Siegfried finds himself on the banks of a mysterious lake. In the shimmering patches of moonlight on the water, visions of bewitched swan maidens rise up before him. Siegfried catches sight of a beautiful maiden unlike any other. He is spell-bound, deeply struck by her beauty. At long last, he has found his romantic ideal of love. He swears to the maiden that he will love her forever and be faithful to her.

Prospective brides-to-be are arriving at the Princess Mother's castle. The Prince must chose one of them to be his wife. But Siegfried can think of nothing but the maiden of the lake and his meeting of her. He dances in an offhand way with the well-born maidens. Not one of them can compare to his ideal.

Suddenly, a mysterious knight arrives at the ball accompanied by a ravishingly beautiful young girl and a suite of black swans. It is the Evil Genius and the other maiden is but a double of the one Sigfried loves. Struck by their resemblance, Siegfried hurries towards this new maiden. The Evil Genius is putting the Prince's sentiments to the test. Siegfried is enchanted by the perfidious double who manages to disarm him of all his doubts. He announces the double to be his chosen bride. At this very moment, the throne room is plunged in darkness and a vision of the beautiful maiden he originally sworn to appears before the assembled company.

Siegfried realizes that he has become a plaything in the hands of Fate. Hoping to atone for his betrayal, he rushes in despair after the receding image of the white swan.

At night-time a deep gloom overhangs the lake. The maiden brings the tragic news; the Prince has broken his vow of faithfulness to her. Siegfried's conscience is deeply troubled; he hurries towards her begging for her forgiveness. The maiden forgives the youth but she is no longer mistress of her own fate. The Evil Genius summons up a storm which disperses, plays havoc with, the heroes of our tale, making it impossible for them to unite. Made weak by his single combat with Fate, Siegfried tries in vain to hold on to the vanishing image. As dawn breaks, he finds himself alone on the empty banks of the lake of his dreams.

Alphard slowly closed the book after reading the last line of the last page; he was completely spellbound by the tale. No wonder Cygnus did not sleep at all, who would after reading such a sad story. The poor maiden, the foolish prince! Yet the more he though of it the more sleepy he became, for Alphard too didn't sleep well the night before either, too excited at the thought of returning to school yet again.

So Alphard's eyes gave way to sleep, greatly welcoming a well deserved nap. He dreamed, he dreamt of the beautiful maiden that was betrayed and left in the hands of cruel fates, he dreamt of the love torn away by the prince who swore his love to her, he dreamt of the wicked trick by a maiden and the wizard who tested the prince's resolve. He dreamt of the swans that graced the sparkling lake and the beautiful castle that painted the backdrop of this tragic tale. It was beautiful dream that he did not wish to wake from.

But the train lurched, waking Alphard up from his stupor.

Almost delirious, his vision was cloudy and could not make out much as he was disoriented. Yet as he gazed toward the door to his compartment, he saw his dream suddenly become a reality.

A young girl with beautiful long brown hair in a high bun with a milky complexion and blushed cheeks walked past his car, taking no notice of him at all. In Alphards vision he thought she was the maiden. She almost glided the way she walked past his compartment, just like a swan that glided over the water. She carried an aura around her that was as light as a feather, as if she could sprout wings and fly. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue that matched the lake in his dream and had delicate full pink lips that made him wish he could hear her speak. As soon as she walked past him that light had faded and his clouded vision had cleared completely. Almost immediately Alphard threw himself upwards and opened his car door to catch a glimpse of the girl yet again.

But she was gone.

Vanished into thin air, like the young prince had imagined when he dreamt the lake.

Alphard looked back and forth. he closed the door and opened it again to peer outward just in case he was hallucinating. Yet again though there was nothing. Slowly the Slytherin closed the compartment door and sat back down with eyes widened, holding his head to check if he was feverish. Was he delirious? Did he dream of this girl? He never remembered such a face before from Slytherin, perhaps she was of another house.

Alphard peered down to gaze at his watch, he quickly realized though they were almost ten minutes away from the castle. Alphard cursed himself as he exited his compartment and went toward the back car to receive his uniform. He rushed over and quickly received it in due time and quickly changed into his house's robes. He smoothed over his black overcoat making sure the Slytherin insignia was noticeable. His uniform was the same as usual, a standard White collared shirt with grey vest and matching grey slacks, black loafers and socks and a tie that matched the same green color of the Slytherin house. Alphard smoothed his messy black locks till it at least looked presentable to the public. his mother always found it unfortunate that Alphard, with all his good looks Inherited his fathers "wild" hair. Claiming without grooming it he looked downright "Uncivilized."

The Slytherin, after being fully groomed and ready to go went back to car to grab his book and briskly walked forward to find either Cygnus or Druella, steering clear of Walburga since he found her insufferable and Orion who was probably with his unfavorable company. He kept a special eye out though for the "swan maiden", hoping to yet again catch a glimpse of her. If not he could always try finding her in the great hall for the feast. Alphards eye though quickly spotted Cygnus who surprisingly enough was with Druella already, guess she probably thought the same thing he did in sticking together for the ride into the castle.

He opened their compartment, waving at the two casually.

"See, I told you he would come." Cygnus said triumphantly. Druella puffed her cheeks as she forked over two galleon's to the other Black.

"Did you two seriously bet on me coming over…" He asked, clearly not amused.

"Yes, just look how much I won! I promise to split my wins, I'll buy you a cauldron cake." Cygnus said with a wink.

"Whatever." Alphard said, sighing as he sat down next to Druella, looking toward her apologetically. He took the book out and threw it over to Cygnus, the other Black easily caught it.

"There wouldn't happen to be some kind of spell embedded into those pages are there?" Alphard asked, clearly pointing to the fairy tale.

"Not that I know of, it's just a silly muggle book." Cygnus replied, clearly confused.

"You did something, didn't you." Druella accused.

"I didn't! Honest!" Cygnus defended, hands raised in surrender.

"I'm half hoping you did jinx me because if not I think I'm going crazy…" Alphard mumbled. Druella and Cygnus looked to Alphard confused, they never saw him this disoriented before.

Yet he ignored this for only one question plagued his mind, just who was the girl he saw?

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Oh my who could this swan maiden be? Will Alphard find her? Is she made up? Let me know what you think! I would love to know your opinion of this new story!

Good luck with finals everyone!


	2. The Dying Swan

Hi everyone! I hope you all are doing well. It's summer break for me here in the states and I'm back home in NYC again. Have yourselves an awesome vacation and relax a bit with this new chapter. See you soon! If you like this story please feel free to check my other story on my profile. It is certainly longer than this one but with time and patience this story too will flourish.

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Cygnus, Druella and Alphard stepped out of the train car into the cold, foggy night. Students of all ages crowded the station platform with mixed excitement and apprehension. For students like Alphard and the rest of the family it was all normal and dull. Alphard himself was a sixth year, so in the wake of students being separated by their year and to their respected transportation to the castle Alphard couldn't help but feel envy for the first years who got to travel by boat. He remembered the first time he got to ride in the boats and never forgot the memorable experience of the glittering lights of the castle that was reflected on the black lake. Alas, sixth years had to travel by the carriages that apparently move on their own.

But Alphard knew better than that.

Thestrals they were called. With a skeletal body, face with reptilian features and wide, leathery wings that resemble a bat's they are considered very rare, yet dangerous by many since you could only see them if you have seen death at first hand. They were but poor misunderstood creatures. They were quite gentle, they let you pet them whenever you wanted and they loved affection. Yet any unsuspecting person who got to see them usually screamed. Alfred saw his grandmother pass away when he was six so that was why he could see them, this wasn't the case with Orion, Walburga, Cygnus or Druella though. They never saw death first hand, so they believed the carriages pulled themselves.

The three all boarded their carriage, saving room for Orion and Walburga should they decide to show up for once in their li-

"Hey, there you guys are!" Orion said excitedly, boarding the carriage.

Well, speak of the devil.

"Didn't feel like being in the company of Abraxas any longer dear cousin?" Cygnus asked, smirking.

"Alas, I can only handle formalities for so long without feeling the need to strangle myself." Orion said dramatically, pretending to hold an invisible noose over his neck.

"I hate him, he reeks of deception." Druella deadpanned.

"Straight and to the point as always my lovely sister." Orion replied dryly.

"Can't help but agree…" Alphard said with a nod of the head.

"Believe me we all know you can't stand Abraxas, Alphard." Cygnus said aloud. "Your face twists and you clench your fists till they turn white."

"That does have a tendency to be your dead giveaway you know, when you clench your fist like that. It's a bad habit." Druella added.

"Personally I'd rather clench my fist than use it." Alphard retorted.

"Spoken like a true gentleman." Orion nodded in approval.

A sudden lurch indicated the carriage was on its way over to the castle.

" Well, looks like Walburga won't be joining us then…" Cygnus said dryly.

"Please, she couldn't wait to get away from us. She thinks she's so much more sophisticated and brighter than we are." Orion spat with venom.

"She has her friends, it's only fair since we have been stuck together all summer." Alfred said to ease the tension.

"She's still a bitch if you ask me." Orion mumbled. Cygnus kicked him making Orion clutch his leg in pain.

"Only I get to call her that so watch your mouth, Orion. She's my sister and your cousin." He said as a warning.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I get it." Orion spat.

For the rest of the ride over to the castle it was all but idle chit chat. By the time they reached the castle they were immediately directed to the great hall in order to begin the great feast and see the annual first year sorting ceremony. Alphard was particularly excited, all the students had to be in the great hall, it was the perfect opportunity. At least then he could spot the young woman he saw earlier.

The Blacks seated themselves with each other as usual at the Slytherin table, closest to the teachers table which overlooked them all. Maybe it was because the Blacks found being closest to the teacher meant you were closer to a higher rank. This was no surprise of course, for the great hall mimics the age old tradition of the Medieval court. Where the teachers sat high above the students was usually where the highest of nobility sat. The closer you were to the high table the higher in rank you were. Thus, the Blacks felt the "high" need to be above everyone else. Soon the whole room was filled and Alphard scanned the whole Slytherin table first, anxious to see the mystery girls face.

Alas, it was not meant to be.

"Damn…." Alfred said in disappointment, slouching in his seat.

"What seems to be the matter, Alphard?" Orion asked, interested.

"He's looking for the swan princess." Cygnus cackled.

"What?" Orion looked to his cousin holding back a snort of laughter. "You mean to tell me that fairy tale you read on the train ride over made you daft? Don't tell me you think she's real or something." He said to Alphard, having a hard time containing his laugh.

"No you idiot." Druella objected. "Alphard saw a young woman about our age who looked just like the princess in the book. He's never seen her before and was trying to look for her." She explained further.

"Ohhh I see how it is now. Looking for a girl already, Alphy? I bet you Dad would be "so" proud of you." Orion nudged him, wiggling his brows.

"It's not like that you pervert." Alphard said, glaring at his cousin.

"I was only joking, calm down." He waved off in dismissal. "Here, why don't I help you find her. Do you know what house she's from?" He asked why eyeing the ever growing crowd of students.

"Unfortunately I don't know what house she's from, she wasn't wearing her robes when I saw her…but…" Alphard dug in his robes pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. "I drew her, so this might help you."

"You drew her?" Cygnus asked, making a weird face.

"Stalker." Druellal accused.

"Hey now you two…" Alpahard said making a pained facial expression. Orion snatched the drawing away and whistled loudly.

"Uwaaaa she's super pretty, no, gorgeous! Is she even real?!" Orion said amazing, taking in the detail of the drawing. "Does such a girl even go here?" He said aloud with wonder.

"Hey, hey quit hogging the picture let us see!" Cygnus said, now equally curious.

Orion give the picture to Cygnus and showed the drawing to Druella so they may both see the face.

Indeed, she truly was something beautiful to behold.

Long dark hair pulled up in a high bun that framed her delicate features. She had stunning bright, large eyes, Full soft lips, a straight but small nose and a long neck. Cygnus's eyes went wide and Druella blinked rapidly, a rarity for her lack of facial expressions.

"She looks like something out of a storybook…" Druella said slowly and almost dream like.

"Yeah, I have to agree with Orion on this one. Are you sure you weren't just dreaming?" Cygnus asked.

"I don't know really myself… I was quite captured when I saw her though."

"Yeah, who wouldn't be?" Orion agreed.

"Well, one things for certain is that she's not from our house." Druella ruled out. "hmmm, actually…." The young witch took the picture from Cygnus and examined the picture more.

"Hang on a minute, I'll be back." she got up from her seat and walked briskly down the Slytherin table to where Walburga was with her group.

"Walburga!" She called out to her cousin.

Walburga turned her head to Druella, blinking questionably at her. Her party of five other female Slyhtherins also silenced their conversation as they saw the approaching Black.

"Druella, what brings you down here?" She asked, flipping her long black hair out of the way.

"Can I have a moment of your time? I need to ask you something." She beckoned. Walburga turned to her party apologetically with a curt smile and left them, approaching Druella gracefully.

"Yes, what is it?" Druella gave her the drawing.

"Do you happen to know anyone with this face? Alphard swore he saw her but we're pretty sure she's not of this house. You're the only person I know who keeps a photographic memory of all the students here in the castle so I thought I would check with you."

Walburga studied the picture and flushed slightly, she too taken aback by the beautiful drawing. However, since Walburga inherited vain attributes she concealed her memorization for being skeptical.

"Alphard sure has a talent for drawing…" She sighed. "No, I don't recognize her. Perhaps she is of a different house?"

Before they could dive deeper into their conversation the headmaster beckoned for everyone to take a seat. Druella took back the drawing, thanking Walburga for helping and returned to Cygnus, Orion and Alphard. Druella handed back the drawing, quickly shaking her head as a sign of failing Alphard but he nodded while smiling as a way of thanking her for her efforts anyway. They turned their attention to double doors that suddenly opened, letting in the many first years into the Great Hall with wide eyes.

Alfred always got a kick out of seeing the new students every time. Waves of memories of seeing the bewitched ceiling matching the heavens, the looks of their fellow students watching them to see which house they would belong to. Ahhh yes, that was truly a stunning and awfully frightening experience back then. As the new first years gathered toward the front, the sorting hat was brought out and placed on a single stool, elevated enough for all to see. Like clock work, one by one each student was sorted into their respected house.

"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

Alphard hummed to the tune as each student excitedly ran to their new house, greeted warmly by their older counterparts. Just when the last student was sorted and all were waiting for the food to arrive, the Headmaster rose from his seat to speak and the great hall fell silent.

"My dear students, as well all know Hogwarts is a time to make friends and be merry and learn together. We make fond memories and sooner or later depart and continue with our lives. What I ask though, especially for you 6th years, is to extend your hand of friendship to one more student who will be joining us. A few of you may have known her here, but a fellow student of yours was taken out their first year of school for personal reasons and has returned to finish her education here at Hogwarts. She is a fellow Ravenclaw and I expect you all the extend a heart-felt welcome back to Hogwarts." Headmaster Dippett turned a parchment sheet of paper as the students clapped.

"Now, I'm sure you are all tired of hearing of rules and announcements. Please, enjoy the fabulous meal and again, welcome back!" With the clapping of the headmasters hands Suddenly mounds of all food sprang out of nowhere on all four of the Houses tables. Meats and fish of all kinds presented themselves in the many hundreds of different cooking preparations appeared, astounding the first years and making all who were used to it even more hungry than before. Complimentary dishes like potatoes, rice, beans, salads, vegetables of all kind, fresh or cooked were displayed in artistic designs making all the students gasp with delight.

Alphard immediately grabbed a nice hunk of steak before Orion could get his hands on it. He chewed his food slowly, keeping his ever growing curiosity of the young woman he saw earlier fresh in his mind. Every few bites his eyes would fall upon the other tables carefully, He grey eyes scanning each female from every house like a hawk.

Yet despite all his careful efforts, he could not find this girl. He all but slowly began to accept in his mind that he was in the wrong. He was in a complete stupor when he saw her. Perhaps he judgement was clouded, he only saw what he wished to see. Was it perhaps a glimpse into the future? Was she something that was to happen or never be? Alphard's eyebrows furrowed in concentration and clear frustration.

Alfred sighed, holding his hand to his head, now throbbing with pain.

"I think I'm going to retire early…" Alphard said in clear irritation.

"Headache again?" Cygnus asked as he inhaled another bite of his fish.

"More like a migraine, I can already feel it getting worse." Alphard replied dully.

"Best get to some place quiet then before Orion starts yelling out challenges to a pumpkin juice contest agai-"

"WHO THINKS THEY CAN DEFEAT ME IN A PUMPKIN JUICE CONTEST?! ANYONE!?" Orion yelled in a cocky attitude toward the Ravenclaw table.

Cygnus and Alphard rolled their eyes. Too late.

"I'll see you all back in the common room then…" Alfred slowly got up from his seat, bowing his head slightly to headmaster Dippet in respect and briskly removed himself from the premises and into the quiet empty halls of the school.

The handsome Slytherin paced himself as he steadily toward the Slytherin dorms. He reached the ever-changing staircase and descended down the cold stone steps, each step echoed in sharp contrast to the feeling of isolation from the empty halls. Yet suddenly his ears could not help but pick up the faint sound of music. The Wizard stopped to hear it more, listening to the way it echoed so softly and sweetly around the room. The paintings themselves could hear the sweet melody as well for some swayed while others sighed, leaning against their very frame with a smile. The sweet song was light like a feather that danced in the wind. Yet somehow it was melancholy in its wake, as if the song represented a dying creature gasping for its last few breaths on this earth.

It was almost like magic how the sweet song beckoned Alphard to come to where it was. Alphard's raging headache all but drifted away with the sweet sound of the music and replaced it with a feeling of lightness that reached his very soul. Alphard found himself in a trance like the very prince who found himself near the magic lake. He rushed to find the music before it would stop completely. He didn't know if he was possessed or not, nor did he know if the music was even really calling out to him the way he imagined. He just knew he had to find the source of the sweet melody.

He turned a few corners, the music getting louder and louder at every second his footsteps advanced. Alphard could feel himself having shortness of breath, suddenly nervous of his every move. The music grew louder yet the lightness of the sound did not dissipate. The source lead Alphard to the steps that lead outside the castle toward an empty courtyard of the school.

The scenery was completely adorned with beautiful flowers that have yet to wither from the weather despite the greeting of the cool autumn breeze. A full moon graced the cloudless night, showering moon beams that shone through the arches of the courtyards and through the trees. The light reflected the droplets of water that made the courtyard sparkle and breathed life and wonder to this garden so carefully taken care of. Yet the night welcomed the mist that came down from the mountains surrounding the castle and made the courtyard ground all but look as though you were treading on a cloud.

Yet this scenery did not take his breath away, no, Alphard was completely transfixed by a willowy figure that moved with the grace of an angel.

There in the middle of the courtyard stood the young woman Alphard believed wasn't even real. Even gazing toward her now she looked to be other worldly.

Her arms moved gracefully up and down like a bird. She glided back and forth with a weightlessness that was unlike any creature, the mist all but churned and moved with her as if she commanded it to dance with her. As Alphard stepped closer, he could see that she was wearing pointe shoes and not in her uniform, rather a simple white dress that flowed like air itself. Every step closer he dared take he did so in complete secrecy, daring to not disturb this dance she was preforming. The moon reflected her pale skin that gave her an aura like a fairy, glowing with beauty. Alphard gasped with wonder as he saw as her leg extended back into a perfect arabesque, dipping her upper body low as her leg reached the sky with authority. The mist followed her leg upward and spun, finally evaporating and joining itself again with the clear night. as her leg returned the ground her arms helped her spin again causing the mist to fly away from her in haste.

Yet the dream all but came to a sudden halt for suddenly a loud crack was heard, causing Alphard to break out of his stupor and back into the harsh reality. He had stepped on a broken branch and it was loud enough for the young girl to gasp in surprise and spin around to look for the intruder.

"Who's there!" She called out into the night.

Ah, her voice was as pretty as he imagined. Alphard cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry to disturb you. I mean no harm!" The young Black stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself to the girl.

"Again, I am so sorry for disrupting… I… I was taken by the music and followed it here." The Slytherin Pointed to the record player.

The girl's face flushed and went over to turn the music off. She turned back to Alphard, clearly mortified for being seen.

"My name is Alphard Black, I saw you passing by earlier on the train I believe…" Alphard was not very good at introductions, he could tell the air was stiff and felt forced.

"O-oh is that so." She replied, eyes widened.

Did he just come off as a stalker? Did that sound stalker like? It totally did, didn't it. The Slytherin honestly wished he had a time turner right about now.

"Could I perhaps know your name?" He asked as politely as possible.

Suddenly the girl put her hand to her mouth in shock.

"Oh! my I'm so sorry where are my manners." She said almost frazzled. "My name is Odette." She reached out to shake his hand. "I'm a 6th year Ravenclaw, pleased to meet you…. I-I apologize what is your name again?"

"Alphard."

"Alfred?"

"No, A-l-p-h-a-r-d." He spelled out.

"Alphard! Now that's a name." She said in amazement. "If I remember correctly that's one of the stars in the constellation for Hydra, isn't it?"

"That would be correct, you know your constellations." he complimented.

"I love astronomy." The witch said almost too quickly.

The conversation died down and left them with awkward silence. Poor Alphard, and he was doing so well up to that point. Why was he not gifted in conversation like Orion was?!

"Sorry, I'm usually not this quiet…" She suddenly blurted out, flustered. "It's just I was dancing… alone… in the dark…. and suddenly-"

"I come out of nowhere like some kind of ghost." Alfred rambled on almost too quickly. "Yes, if I were in your shoes I would be uncomfortable too." The Slytherin looked down and chuckled. "And I mean that figuratively and literally." He said, pointing to her pointe shoes.

Odette full out grinning and burst out laughing, covering her mouth to show modestly.

"How do you dance on your toes like that, don't they hurt at all?" He asked, clearly astounded.

"Well of course they do." She said. "It takes time and practice though. You learn to get over it."

"You make it look effortless." He complimented.

She blushed, raising her shoulders embarrassed while putting her hand to her neck.

"What by any chance were you dancing to? It was pretty yet sad…" He motioned to the record player.

"Ah, yes it's called The Dying Swan. It has a tendency to sway you in the most heart wrenching ways. It's by Saint-Saens." She said to Alphard.

"The Dying Swan…" He repeated slowly. "This… this wouldn't happen to be for the ballet Swan Lake would it?" He asked.

"Yes it is in fact!" Odette said, eyes sparkling with excitement. This was the first male wizard she met who knew of ballet and Swan Lake no less!

Alphard looked to the skies and breathed in deeply, almost thinking the very gods who put him on this earth for this moment.

"My god… it must be fate then." He whispered to himself.

"Pardon?" Odette asked.

"No, it's nothing." He said, returning his gaze back to the Ravenclaw in front of him. "I just thought that tonight was truly a wonderful moment to step outside." He said to her with a smile.

* * *

Hello my dear readers, been a little while hasn't it? I really hope you like this story. I chose the character to be a ballerina because of mother who was a Joffrey Ballet dancer. I hope that if you like it you'll let me know, hearing from you guys is seriously one of the nicest delights I can ever receive.

If any of you are interested in the song that was played and what it sounds like, please, let yourselves take a look on youtube and type in "The Dying Swan" by Saint-Saens and close your eyes to listen and imagine the dance.

Till next time!


	3. I Bow To You

Hi everyone, I've ignored this story for far too long, but here I am and ready to let you read! I hope you enjoy yourselves!

* * *

Alphard couldn't help but find the situation unfolding around him to be a little too ridiculous for his liking. A little while back he had awoken bright and early, still retaining that "new year, new you" vibe to the fresh start of the first day of classes. With a quick shower, the brushing of his teeth and quick spray of cologne the young Black assumed that his day would go smoothly.

He couldn't have been more wrong.

He felt a hand on his shoulder that was unmistakably Orion's. His cousin roughly grabbed him and spun him around to face him directly.

"I Thought you were joking when you told me about her!" Orion yelled.

"It's too early for this." Alphard replied dully, but Orion started shaking him.

"That THING is in the great hall now and everyone is losing it down there! I didn't know something that pretty to exist!"

"That "thing" has a name you know, Orion. It's Odette." Alphard replied sharply.

"Normally I would agree with you but no human female looks like that! Is she a Vela!?" Orion started complaining even louder.

"How would I know and will you stop shaking me?!" Alphard yelled back, breaking free from his shocked cousin.

"Now's not the time for you to argue with me, come!" Orion decreed like a king, grabbing Alphard by the arm and dragging him out of the Slytherin Dorms and towards the Great Hall.

'Oi, let go of me were in public you moron!" Alphard ripped his arm away from Orion.

"Fine, just keep up. You gotta see this." His cousin replied. Alphard sighed, nodding in agreement as he allowed him to lead the way.

"Whoever you inherited your big, fat, loud mouth from remind me to hex them in the after-life. It's too early for this kind of crap, even from you." Alphard hissed only loud enough for Orion to hear.

"And usually I would leave you be till it was the afternoon and less of a prick but I feel this is warranted. That girl has created a storm in the hall and you were the only one who saw her before."

"I talked to her last night-"

"You what!? When were you going to tell me this?!" Orion yelled. Alphard kicked him in the shin, grabbing him closer.

"When I went to bed I met her while walking back to the Dorm. And had you been more polite with me you would have heard this news at breakfast." Alphard hissed.

"Okay, Okay I get it just loosen your grip you're worse than a viper!" Orion winced.

Alphard sighed, letting him go. Orion shook his arm, checking for damage.

"That girl is all alone and I would love to 'sacrifice' myself for a beautiful maiden. However, you saw her first, so I think you should be the one to set a claim."

"A claim… what are you even talking about Orion?"

"Oh you know, get any other guy to back off."

"Not this again, not the whole "male-dominant" garbage you were spewing earlier." Alphard said shaking his head. "She's not an object to claim, she's not a prize, Orion. You need to get that straight in your head or else one of these days it will hurt who you want to cherish most." The two continued on with their hasty walk to the Hall.

"I'm just saying that there are going to be many fools who will dare try to snatch her for themselves. I don't think you would want that seeing as how you acted like a love-struck puppy last night." Orion argued. "I was only looking out for you."

"Thanks but no thanks, you and I look for different things in Women, Cousin."

"What do you mean by that?" Orion said, clearly getting annoyed.

"I don't want a one night stand, like you." Alphard and Orion turned another corner, attracting the attention of a group of young students.

"There is nothing wrong with casual sex Cousin."

"You're right about that, so long as both parties are satisfied than all is well. I just happen to not like it for myself so don't group me with you." He warned.

Suddenly Orion and Alphard came to a grinding halt as they were barred from entering the great hall. It was jam-packed with students, all trying to squeeze through the doors.

"See, this was what I was talking about." Orion said, presenting the scene like he was the narrator.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Alphard replied in disbelief.

"Afraid not."

"How should we get through…"

"The good old regal Black way I suppose?" Orion suggested. Alpahard nodded to this in agreement.

"Guess we have no choice, though I really do hate playing this card…" Alphard muttered to himself in disgust.

"Boo-hoo, our family is powerful and important, poor you." His cousin mocked. The mocking was swiftly received with a kick in the leg.

The two began to walk ahead though, pulling out their calm and collected demeanor into action. Serious and straightforward, the House of Black were the kings of this trait. So powerful their presence that it didn't take long for the large crowd that blocked them to notice that behind them were two powerful wizards that would take nothing in short of the highest respect. The crowd of students parted in a way that could only be compared to moses and the Red sea, eyes staring at them, awaiting their own reaction.

And there she was.

Alphard's breath hitched but quickly composed himself.

There was Odette, sitting in the Ravenclaw tablet that was already full to the brim with students oggling at her. Her attention was taken away from her food to the other commotion that came from them no less. Where her eyes went everyone else's followed. What a powerful presence this witch had that she could command a room without even acknowledging their very being. What girl wouldn't dream of possessing that sort of personality Alphard thought to himself.

And where her eyes went happened to land on Alphard.

Time stopped in that brief exchange. Alphard could see her eyes twinkle at the sight of seeing a familiar face in a sea of the unknown. How her brows relaxed, the corners of her mouth lifted only a hint, how her shoulders, once tightened, let themselves fall back to a natural position. Her whole expression softened and it was all for him to witness and take like a gift especially for him.

Alphard gave her a curt nod in greeting, she returned this in favor with her eyes lowering and then staring back at him for a brief moment. The elagent witch then turned her head back to her plate while Orion and Alphard directed their walking to their table to eat.

"She greeted you." Orion stated.

"I initiated it." Alphard replied lazily.

"But she returned the greeting and that's all that matters." Orion chided.

The two found themselves empty seats at their table, their usual spot that was always empty. The minute they sat was when normal conversations began again, filling the room with the hundreds of voices of students yet again.

"Do you think you'll talk to her soon?" Orion asked as he reached out to grab himself some eggs and bacon.

"Only if she initiates it. It would be bad if I was the one who reached out to her first." Alphard grabbed an already warmed tea kettle and filled his cup with a warm batch of witches herbal brew. "If I were to begin conversation she might attract unwanted attention, and might be barred from making friends considering our ranking. I want her to be comfortable here first." He then reached and grabbed some milk and poured just a hint in his tea.

"On the contrary Alphard, if you initiate conversation you could potentially help her." Orion took a bite of his bacon. "You could assist her in settling into a more quiet routine instead of this commotion." He then gestured to the many hoards of students who were all stealing glances at the etherial Ravenclaw.

"True, but it would cost her the possibility of forming friendships that aren't of our own."

"You worry too much about our house, cousin."

"I worry about what our house effects, not of our kind. We're fortunate enough to not receive the chaos we create in others lives." He corrected.

All of the students voices died down with the sound of owls screeching from above.

Ah, mail's here.

And they came in hoards by the hundreds. Owls of all kinds sprung out of nowhere, carrying various packages, letters and newspapers of all shapes and sizes. They all took turns swooping down and dropping the various mail to their masters lap or by having them catch in mid drop like some sort of game. Alphard though couldn't help but notice from the corner of his eye that rather than an owl giving Odette her mail it was a cat instead that found its way into the great hall making its way to her.

The feline was a classically jet-black cat with bright green eyes. It was young adult cat, in its clear prime. The creature carried what seemed to be an array of items for the witch. A few letters, the Daily Prophet and what seemed to be a medium sized package.

The cat 'meowed' to her owner, pawing at her leg to get her attention. Odette saw her and immediately moved her plate to the side and picker the black cat up, placing her on the table.

"Hello, Salem." She whispered to her little partner in crime as she removed the items tied to him. Odette rewarded her cat with a piece of smoked salmon from her plate. The feline happily ate the offering and as soon as he finished the cat stretched and jumped into her masters lap followed by positioning itself to sleep, cuddled on top of her thighs.

The Ravenclaw sighed.

"Lazy as usual aren't you…" She smiled fondly, shaking her head as she stroked the purring animal.

"Well what do you know, a black cat. We have a traditionalist in our halls." Orion observed.

"Don't see them often anymore…" Alphard added.

"Well yeah," Orion began, turning to his cousin. "Cats are temperamental creatures. They do what they please unlike owls who are obedient to their master. It's rare to see any witch or wizard with a cat now, especially black cats! I heard black cats can curse their masters if they are insulted."

"Is that so? Well then, she's either very brave or done something right to warrant that cats love." Alphard said with a quick smile. It was quite obvious that the cat adored it's mistress very much. It slept soundly on her like she was it's own personal pillow.

"Good morning." Out of nowhere Druella was behind Orion making both Slytherins almost jump out of their own skins.

"God-dammit, Dru! How many times do I have to tell you to quit doing that!" Orion yelped.

"You thinking I will listen to you will only bring you disappointment, Orion."

"Disappointment? Ha! Thats the least of my worries! I'm more worried of you giving me a heart attack!" Orion complained.

"You're still young." Druella replied coldly as she took a seat next to him.

"And would like to die old too!" Orion spat.

"Be nice children." Alphard warned, sipping his tea, way too used to their constant arguments.

"Good morning, Alphard." Druella said, ignoring Orion completely as she sat next to him.

"Good morning to you too, Druella." He replied respectfully.

"I see you wished hard on the evening star cousin." Druella said in a mystified way.

"And why do you say that?" Druella's personality was always a mixture of mystery, riddles and sheer bluntness. The Slytherin witch's facial expressions were always consistent as well, and by that he meant she never showed any at all. Had he believed in reincarnation she would have for sure believed Druella was once an Elf.

"Because your sheer insanity of a delusion became a reality. Now we have the girl that could match a Veela in appearance in our very halls." She pointed out.

"Well then, apologies in crushing your fantasy my dear cousin but I didn't conjure her up like I do in your transfigurations class. She was real to begin with, it was you to quickly denounce my claim to her existence." Alpahrd replied dryly.

"Fair." She nodded to him as she poured herself a cup of the same tea Alphard was drinking himself. Rather than milk though she dropped two sugar cubes instead.

"When do you intend to introduce yourself to her then? Do you have a plan?" She then asked as she took a sip, eyeing Alphard.

For Druella to ask more than two questions about any subject was a miracle in itself so she must be very interested indeed about this whole predicament.

"Well-"

"Apparently he already met her." Orion interrupted, eyebrows wiggling. "At night~" He almost sung.

"Why is it that the minute you open your mouth about anything it always sounds so god-damn perverted…" Alphard glared.

"What is she like?" Druella asked.

"Sweet, very gentle." Alphard replied cooly.

"And thats all?"

"Shy as well. Though that could have been from the circumstances from how we met. So don't hold any pre-judgement of her character till you have the chance to speak to her yourself." Alphard warned.

"You should know me better, Alphard. I never form an opinion till after two meetings on my own." She stated calmly.

"It wasn't directed to you." Alphard then shot a glare at Orion who put his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, I get it, I promise I won't do anything weird." He snorted.

Meanwhile at the Ravenclaw table Odette was bored. Hundreds of eyes upon her was nothing new due to her dealings as a ballerina, so to her she treated this unwanted attention like a stage. She almost laughed though at the thought. This whole scene to her could be interpreted as a dance. The way she must act will determine her audience's reaction. She remained on the silent side, she has yet to speak to anyone. On the other hand none dared approached her either.

Well, all but one that was.

She dared not turn around to look at him, the Slytherin whose table was behind her own. With jet black hair and those striking grey eyes, when she first met him Odette firmly believed he wasn't real. He spoke gently towards her, like he was beckoning a small animal to come to him, almost as if he was proving he meant no ill will towards her. Even though it was a surprise, the Ravenclaw sensed that the man was gentle in spirit.

Perhaps she should go to him, get to know him. At this point he was the only one who spoke to her here and she still has no clue how to navigate the castle. She sighed a little though at the thought. Then again, that might not be a good idea after all. People love to talk and she was already used to the hoards of rumors that follow her around. She would just be adding fuel to the fire by giving them means to speak of a male student that they know for sure she doesn't know. "What are her motives? Does she fancy him? Is that what her tastes in men are like?" These are the whispers that were bound to follow not only her but also him.

Odette looked to her cat who was eyeing her. She smiled a bit to it, the cat was sharp, always could tell when she was troubled. She pet his black coat soothingly to him.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." The young witch reassured the feline in a whisper. The cat all but stared a little while longer till he dropped his head to lick his paws for self grooming.

As she was just about to turn her attention back to her plate a loud crashing noise followed by a yelp of a student stole her attention. Directly behind her a poor student was in mid-trip with a plate full of food and was about to crash into her in full force.

Odette's hand stretched outright to a stop motion and sure enough the food and even the student froze mid-flight.

A loud "Whoooooooaaa!" Broke out in sheer surprise of the scene. Odette wordlessly extended her pointer finger and spun it in a quick "C" shape, causing the food that was spewing from the other students plate to reverse back to it's proper place along with the student to reverse back on his two feet.

The male student looked to be a second year, a young one. He was clearly shocked and scared beyond means as he stared wide eyed at the Ravenclaw. The witch all but smiled, patting his head sympathetically.

"That was close huh?" She smiled as she ruffled his hair a bit. " You alright?"

"Y-y-y-yeah. I-I'm so sorry I-"

"No apologies needed, gravity is tricky mistress." She quickly answered. She eyed his uniform, ah, he was a Hufflepuff.

Everyone was frozen silent as the witch spoke to the young wizard. They all finally got a chance to hear the mysterious Ravenclaw speak so none dared utter a sound.

"Thank you for saving me!" He squeaked, a full on blush of embarrassment graced the poor kids causing the Witch to stifle a giggle. Aw man, he was adorable this little one!

"Do you need me to escort you to your table? Wouldn't want you to trip again would I?" She full on smiled to him.

"N-n-no! You don't need to trouble yourself! Really! Thank you again!" He gave a small curt bow and proceeded to scurry away back to his table. He eyed the witch though as he distanced himself as Odette waved goodbye to the youngster.

As the Ravenclaw turned back to her tablet she saw the Alphard who was staring at her again. They locked eyes for that moment. Wordlessly he looked to be asking if she was alright. Odette replied with a quick smile to him, showing all was well as she returned herself to her plate. The witch suppressed laughing though as she could see that the Ravenclaw students all but stared at her, eyes wide as saucers.

"You look as if you never seen anyone use a spell before…" She joked. Her fellow house mates awoke from their stupor from that moment and all pretended to distract themselves from Odette.

She smiled to herself a bit. Maybe they didn't get her joke? Oh well…

Meanwhile Orion was grabbing Alphard's shoulder from across the table, shaking it.

"She smiled at you, she smiled at you!"

"I know already!" Alphard snapped as he tried to free himself from Orion's death grip.

"You have to talk to her, Alphard, social status be damned!" He yelled.

"Go for it." Druella added with a thumbs up.

"Not you too…" Alphard replied with weary.

It was just then that the Slytherin noticed from the corner of his eye that Cygnus appeared from the Entrance to the Great hall. Eye's yet again adorned with dark circles that could only show that the man yet again spent his night reading books till the morning. His brothers attention though was completely transfixed on seeing Odette in the flesh. He cocked his head to the side, looking in wonder, then turned his head to where he along with the rest of his family were regularly sitting. Cygnus gave Alphard a look of bewilderment but then full on smiled. Alphard wordlessly shook his head at his brother, communicating the he dare not try anything for it was too soon to determine an outcome. His brother made a face but then rolled his eyes as he trudged over to his table, yawning almost every step of the way.

"Morning everyone." He called out as he sat, the other three greeted him in tow.

"My, my, I guess you were right, brother. That book must have had a spell put on it, one of its character came to life!" He said in fake amazement, Alphard snorted.

"And how was your sleepless night, Cygnus? What news do you bring from the tales of old?" Alphard challenged.

"That the great Merlin, tempted by Nimue, revealed all of his secrets known to us in magic." He leaned in closer, causing the rest of the black family to lean in as well. "And the cost of his desire for her was his life. She entrapped the great wizard in a tomb, a tree, that bids him to sleep forever and only to awaken at the sight of his king resurrected to defend Albion." Cygnus recited poetically.

"So you recite to me a classic, how very you." Alphard smiled boringly.

"On the contrary, brother. I recite this to forewarn of this creature here before us. That her beauty and charm may ensnare the senses but dull the mind if one is not too careful." Cygnus replied, plopping a grape in his mouth as he waited to hear his brothers answer.

"As always Cygnus, you have my best intentions at heart. And none of us could deny your sagely wisdom." Alphard sipped his coffee. "If the time ever comes that you decide to grow a beard as long as the great wizard himself I will call you Merlin myself."

"Is that a promise Alphard? As you know, I only live to serve as he did for Arthur." Cygnus replied in earnest, yet somehow still made it come across as a joke. Orion laughed at his reply, patting him behind the back. "Though I admit that perhaps my loyalty to you is far deeper than Merlin's could ever be, for he was no brother of the king."

"True, brotherhood runs deeper than most other friendships forged." Alphard nodded.

The two cracked up, earning a well earned smile at one another.

"Get a room." Druella said, rolling her eyes.

"You're just jealous that Alphard and I have such a close bond with one another." Cygnus chuckled.

It was just as the Black family leaned back to their original seating position was when the the clock tower rang, filling all the halls of the castle, reminding all the time. Cygnus groaned, grabbing a piece of toast slathered in butter.

"Damn clock…" he said grabbing a bite while adjusting his robes. "Best be off, unless you wish to feel the wrath of missing Slughorn's first lesson."

Alphard was already up, putting on his black cloak and collecting his books.

"Surely not. The man would be heartbroken!" He teased.

"Crest fallen!" Cygnus added.

"Depressed even!" He chimed back.

"We get it, our head teacher is a man of too many emotions." Druella interrupted them, clearly getting annoyed.

"More like too full of himself…" Orion muttered, promptly getting whacked behind the head by his sister. As the Blacks began their departure Alphard could see that all the students parted away as quickly as possible away from Odette who was also leaving the premises as well. Their footsteps echoed in unison till they met in the middle to the entrance hall. As a gentleman, Alphard gestured his hand to her to go out the door first, eyes locking without a single blink.

Odette gave a simple nod in thanks as she strode out first. Alphard directly followed along with the rest of his family but of course gave The young witch enough distance so that non would believe they were following her.

At first he thought that would be the end of their interactions with each other, however fate had another thing in store for Alphard. The Witch bestowed upon him a gift, a gift so precious to him that it made him stare at her with clear longing in his eyes. She began to hum the melody of the Dying swan loud and clear as a bell for all to hear. It filled the hall, stopping students to stare even more at her traveling figure. Alphard was reminded of the sheer memory of their meeting, how she was as elusive yet as welcoming as the very moon that shone for them that night. The Slytherin didn't know whether this was her way of communicating to him but he could not help but feel touched by her sentiment.

Alphard's heart ached for him to do something, the same push he felt before that allowed him find Odette tugged at him yet again. He couldn't help himself then. Before he could even think twice he too hummed the melody, his deep voice harmonizing with her soft voice. He hummed as loudly as she, loud enough to garner everyone else's shocked attention. Her ears picked up on his voice and she stopped to turn to him, surprised. He couldn't even feel the hundreds of eyes that tried to witness their interaction. He continued, unafraid, to hum the melody, hoping for anything in return. He knew it was a strange greeting, that he would surely be mocked by the others for speaking to a woman in such a baffling way. Though his mind cast away his doubts, focusing his mind, body and spirit to the girl who captured him so. He didn't know whether his humming was begging for an answer, but he knew he indeed needed something, needed her, He begged silently for her to give him the courage to approach her yet again.

And then she smiled to him.

Not a curt smile, not one of politeness or of pity, but a full smile. One that was sweet and loving and Alphard smiled in return, thanking Merlin for her gift. Although he could not bring himself to go to her now, to speak words to her, he wished to give her a gift of his own. To solidify his promise of courage. So he communicated the only thing he really remembered in the tale of the Swan. How the Illustration depicted the prince's conversation with the princess when they first meet. So Alphard gestured grandly, pointing to her, then, he raised said hand to his forehead and tapped it three times. Finally he took a step forward and gestured to himself and finally bowed to her.

'You are a queen. So I will bow to you.' He mimed in high hopes she understood him.

And she did.

Odette bowed to him gracefully, appreciation and even astonishment written on her face.

This earned the gasps of quite a number of unsuspecting people, including his own family. Orion's mouth was wide open, prompting his own sister to close it, though she too stared with curiosity. Cygnus himself just blinked, unsure how to proceed with what he just processed. Alphard watched her as she then turned around one last time and left him alone with his thoughts to collect.

Unfortunately his family did not give him that peace for the next two weeks.

* * *

Annnnnd scene. Well guys, I surely enjoyed writing that. Give a comment if you happen to have liked it! Hope to hear from you all soon!


	4. To Reach, To Dare, To Dream For More

Hi everyone! A new chapter awaits for you all to read. I decided it would be fun if I could intertwine my other fanfic Disturbingly Loving (hint, hint you should totally read it just saying) to this new one I'm writing. I hope that this story meets to your expectations, unlike Disturbingly Loving (that I wrote at like what... 15?) I've grown a lot and want to explore writing as I am now at 22. This story is proving to be more fun than I thought so please, give this story a go! It might prove to having you enjoying characters that didn't even exist before with characters from the book that weren't properly explored. I find the Black family very interesting indeed, so give a review if you would like! It's great encouragement!

* * *

"Come oooonnnn" Orion pleaded, poking Alphard "Just tell me already!"

"No."

"You've kept quiet about it for weeks though!"

"I don't care." Alphard replied, getting irked by his cousin. All he wanted to do was read his god-damn book, but no, Orion had to ruin it with his persistent line of questions by following him nonstop. He had been at it for weeks now. Cygnus and Druella left him alone after what happened in front of the Great Hall after about two weeks but Orion would just not let it go. He acted like a curious child by demanding answers from him no matter what he said or did to get him to leave him be. This line of questioning would go on while he awoke, ate his meals, during his breaks, during the evening hours reading. It was like being followed by a broken record!

"But everyone wants to know about what you pulled! One minute you're giving me a damn lecture on 'her coming to you' and then the next thing I know you pull a stunt like that! Make up your damn mind already!" Orion yelled in frustration.

"For once, Orion, can't you just drop it? This is my private business that I want to deal with alone!" He said, stressing the 'alone' part quite clearly to get his nosey cousin to get a damn clue.

"I'll leave you alone if you tell me what you 'mimed' to her." attempting to strike a deal.

"No."

"Ugh!" Orion yelled dramatically, flopping onto his bed next to him. "You're like a damn bloody iron wall! Don't you ever give!"

"I would be a disastrous 'iron wall' if I couldn't protect what was other other side, Orion." Alphard replied cooly as he turned the page of his book.

"Who said anything about a crappy wall? I'm just saying your' walls' ought to have bridges for people to cross, that's all…" Orion complained.

It was then Alphard snapped his book shut, rubbing his his forehead to calm the raging headache that was already brewing.

"I'm going get some fresh air…" He said slowly as he got up, abandoning his book on the base of his bed.

Orion got up with Alphard, intending to go with him but Alphard halted his actions.

"Alone, Orion." Alphard snapped.

Orion crossed his arms in defiance but sighed, clearly seeing he wasn't going to win this battle.

"Fine. I'll see you at dinner then." He bit out.

"See you at dinner." Alpahrd promised as he shut the door of the boys dormitory, walking as far away as possible from his cousin or any other prying eyes and out to the fields to clear his head.

He wondered if this sort of unwanted attention was what Odette faced everyday. Orion complains about his 'walls' but Odette's must be something fierce to behold. If anything her 'wall' is rather a fortress, impenetrable by any normal human. Alphard could hear whispers from every direction about him, they weren't even trying to hide it at this point. The great Alphard, the 'all seeing eye' of the House of Black, had fallen under the spell of a Ravenclaw witch. One of which not one single person knew about. It was the perfect stage setting for rumors to to take flight like a flock of birds.

The way he acted toward her was perceived as a love confession and now he was paying the price. He had to re-group his thoughts at this point. He did not regret his actions for reaching out to the witch. On the contrary, it filled him with deep happiness knowing he was able to communicate to her. And even though she did not open her mouth to speak her smile was the single most beautiful prize he could ever hold dear. However, his stunt was viewed by others as impulsive and rather ridiculous. He couldn't afford his fellow peers making light of him, especially for the future. His family had high enough standards for him and the rest of the young generation of Black's, screwing up like this would only mean it could hurt him in the future with establishing power in his chosen career and-

It was then Alphard stopped in his tracks and scowled, pinching the bridge of his nose out of habit when he was cross.

He was doing it again, thinking of his acursed family name. Old habits die hard and he was raised into believing every move dictated the Black's future. He had to remind himself to cease these thoughts and allow himself more freedom. He was in school, he could afford to be more loose!

Yeah, easier said than done when the shackles remained on his feet.

Alphard sighed in frustration to himself, the accumulated stress was really getting to him now. At this point he was not quiet out of the castle. He was situated in walking down the open hallway that surrounded the inner courtyard of the school which during the kinder seasons acted more like a garden for anyone to admire freely. He quickly eyed the scenery, taking in the fall flowers and the trees, only to stop when he saw that Odette was there. She was sitting on the stone wall that protected one of the trees, apparently listening to quite a few excited first year Gryffindor girls. 'Oh to be young' he thought as he gazed upon them with a small amount of jealousy. Though just as he was about to continue on out of the castle he felt eyes upon him.

Odette had caught sight of him, staring at him with surprise. Though the look of surprise was quickly replaced with a smile and stood up, causing the other Gryffindor girls to turn their heads to the Slytherin. She tapped both her eyes grandly and pointed to him.

'I see you.' she conveyed.

A smile graced Alphard's features. Any gesture she graced him with made him smile. Ever since that fateful day at the Great Hall he had become dedicated in his desire to be able to convey more to her. Alphard wished to speak through a language that only she and him could communicate in, safe from any ears, safe from the outside world.

So he bowed to her as he did before weeks back causing the first years to giggle and chatter amongst themselves excited. When he raised his head he gestured to her, then the scenery, then with both hands raised them and extended them outward to her slowly.

'Why are you here?' me motioned.

Odette looked very pleased by his level of communication, laughing heartily. He could only smile at the thought of how easy it was for her to talk to the wizard this way.

"What did he say?" One of the girls tugged on Odette's shirt, eager to hear her answer. This caused the Ravenclaw to smile and turn her head to the girl.

"He has asked why I'm here." She replied softly. The young girl squealed in delight and turned to her friends to convey what she was told while Odette turned back to Alphard. She gestured to herself, then to the courtyard, then to the excited female first years.

'I am here for them' she signaled back. The Slytherin chuckled a little at her reply.

The other girls turned to themselves, talking even louder than before, more than happy to see with front row seats this wonderful interaction. Although Alphard did not mind at first it it was just those young girls he quickly become more agitated as he could see students gathering to the courtyard like bee's to honey, wanting to see what the commotion was all about. He sighed in frustration, he could not get one free moment with her no matter what he did. Alphard did not wish to cause Odette more problems than he already did weeks back. Taking this as a sign that he should leave he bowed slightly to her in respect and turned to walk away.

But Odette moved toward him, causing him to stop his movements entirely to watch her. She took two steps forward and gestured to him, then to the end of the hallway. Then, clasping her hands together, she shook her head in protest

'Please, do not go away.' she silently begged him.

Alphard eyed her carefully, mouth agape slightly in shock. Then he took a quick look to the large amount of students that had already gathered, waiting for more with excited eyes and ears. She shook her clasped hands yet again, pleading once more to him.

How could he ignore her and her silent plead he thought. The Wizard slowly turned back fully to face Odette and bravely walked out to the courtyard and over to her, ignoring the collective gasps from students as he stopped just a foot away from her. The prompted the first year girls to scurry away in half excitement but also to give them privacy. They still chatted, eyes glued to the two and decided to join the many other students who were surrounding them.

"You finally came to me…" She said breathlessly. Alphard could almost feel an electric shock travel all the way from his head to his toes as he savored how she spoke every syllable in that sentence. His mouth was dry, but opened them to speak in return.

"You pleaded me to stay…" He said, slowly, taking in every detail of her face.

They stood there, looking at each other in silence. Although they said nothing, the time they shared together like this made the world melt away for a moment. Everything bled away like watercolor, and for Alphard the only thing that remained clear as day was her.

"You are very good at miming." Odette complimented, breaking the silence. "Are you yourself a dancer and just forgot to mention it to me?" She asked, half joking, half curious.

"No, I'm just a very avid reader." He replied in earnest.

"Oh, so you learned through books? I'm surprised this castle has such knowledge of Ballet here…" Odette said, eyes widened.

Alphard laughed.

"I did not find such knowledge here in our library. I had done searching on it on my own." He wasn't lying. After receiving that muggle book from his brother he researched through small bookshops to find the right place to order more on the subject of Ballet. It was hard work, considering that the Wizard community had little to do with anything on the subject at all. Thankfully enough, through the stacks of fairy tales there were and few technical pamphlets and a small text book on ballet terminology, he was able to have them all delivered to him and read them as much he could.

"So you did all that work…" She said, as if talking to herself. "To speak with me? Why?" She eyed him with a hint of suspicion. Alphard lowered his gaze in embarrassment at the look of her eyes.

"I did not know how to approach you, I was afraid." The Wizard admitted slowly.

Odette blinked, taking in the words completely shocked.

"Afraid…" She said in a sense of wonder. "What exactly did you fear?"

"I feared being a burden to you. It is obvious you receive unwarranted attention, I did not want to be another set of eyes that made you uncomfortable…"

Odette lowered her gaze, twiddling her fingers together nervously.

"You did all this for a stranger…" She almost whispered.

"You may find it odd, even ludicrous of me to say to you. However, whenever I see you I do not see a stranger, I feel at ease in your presence." Alphard said to her, confidence blooming in his voice. "I hope it is not entirely one sided, this feeling…"

Odette turned away from him, blushing slightly at his words.

"You may have hope." She answered softly. "You have already shown me such large amounts of kindness, it would be unfair of me if I did not feel the same to you…"

"If you will allow me…" Alphard took one step forward, determined to close the gap between them a little more. "I would love to have the chance to get to know you more." He said almost ln a low whisper, trying his hardest not look around him and remember that there is a growing number of people just watching them. Odette returned her gaze to him and her face softened at his offer of friendship.

"You can come see me whenever you please, I too would love to get to know you more. Besides, it would be a nice change over the regular people who visit me." The Ravenclaw said with a bright, cheery smile.

Alphard eyed her with amusement.

"You're speaking of the little ones who flock to your side?" He asked.

"I am not approached by anyone in our year, yet the younger ones seem to be braver, so they try to talk to me often. I find them quiet adorable really…" She admitted with a small smile as she eyed them from afar. Odette then looked to him, smiling. "I take that back, everyone in our year avoids me but you."

"I think they don't approach you because they feel intimidated." Alphard shuffled a bit as she eyed him skeptically. "Not to say you come off cold, rather your beauty makes them believe you are to be give the highest respect."

"You find me pretty?" She almost snorted in laughter. Alphard could only lower his eyes down to his feet as he shuffled slightly.

"It would be the greatest of lies if I told you I did not find you pretty." Odette abruptly turned a bright shade of red. The Wizard could not help but feel particularly proud upon knowing he caused that adorable face to make such a reaction feasible.

"Y-you give off an air yourself you know. As if you are a king no less!" Alphard smiled brightly to her at the comment.

"A king you say?" He asked. "You jest, I much rather fit the role of a prince."

"A prince? Why would you say that?"

"Because a prince has no real power. I do not hold any real right to my family name until my father passes. Until then I am just an extension of my fathers will. To be forced to do my family's bidding till their puppet strings break…" Alphard suddenly went silent. He realized the joke got dark way too quickly. In a sense, he was dumping his frustrations on the witch and a flash of shame graced his features. Such a heavy topic should not be discussed with someone you don't really know. Yet his walls were bare, no one in his own family could make him talk yet Odette broke the barriers without so much as uttering a single word.

"Is your family special in some way?" Odette asked, curious.

"…My family name is old." Alphard slowly admitted, face darkening. "Others around me expect to see that extension of power as a result. That is why I did not dare approach you, I thought it would only cause you harm, so forgive me if I came off as indifferent towards you earlier." Alphard lowered his head in an apology, hands clutched into fists. But two gentle hands reached for his. Her fingers intertwined with his till they were connected. The wizard looked to her, too shocked to say a thing, completely distracted by the warmth and the touch of her soft skin.

"If that is the case then do not tell me your family name. I don't want to know." Odette suddenly said, gazing to the Slytherin. "I will only call you by your first name and you will call me by mine. I will treat you as you treat me…" The witch was about to let go of him but Alphard without thinking clutched them tightly in defiance, to feel this warmth for just a little bit longer. He almost thought she would try to pull away from him. He was selfish and did not want to apologize for it this once. The wizard wanted to hold her hand for as long as she would allow, he wanted to monopolize this very moment for himself, to be linked, to be close, to be-

But he heard collective gasps and very loud talking. His delicate world he shared with Odette had shattered in that one instant and then a rush of realization hit him harder than a nimbus 2000 on maximum speed. He was talking to her all too close, holding her hand for far too long, and there was a large crowd of students watching their exchange in an open court yard. Odette seemed to have realized the same thing, eyes wandering left and right in worry.

"Your words are as kind as you are, Odette. I would be honored to be in your company." He slowly let go of her hands despite his mind screaming in protest. "I caused you trouble again I'm afraid." He lowered his head again in apology.

"You worry to much over me, you caused me no harm! So please, do not lower your head to me again. Such a handsome face should stand more proud." She said with a shy smile.

Handsome… she called him handsome! The Slytherin Looked to her slightly bewildered but clearly very happy to have received such a compliment.

"If you are not busy later, would you like to eat together during lunch?" He suddenly blurted out. Alphard right then wanted to smack himself, there he goes again, awkwardly asking her out to lunch like some bumbling idiot confessing to his first crush. why oh why was he not gifted better at conversation?!

"Oh!" Odette said in surprise. "Oh please forgive me, I had already made plans with the first year girls I was talking to earlier."

Alphard slouched a bit in defeat, ready to stick his head under the ground and remain there for being so foolish. Of course she had plans, any person would give the other more time to plan out a time slot for them to be free and meet up but nooooo he had to be a moron! However Odette placed a hand on his shoulders in reassurance.

"But tomorrow, I am free tomorrow for sure! Would that work for you?" She asked, clearly fretting that she rejected his invitation so quickly.

Alphard then burst out laughing. They were more alike than he thought! She too was as nervous and shy as he was at this interaction.

"And you say I worry too much…" He said as he took her hand and placed them back. "Tomorrow would be fine. We could meet at the Great Hall at noon." Odette nodded to this fervently.

"Yes, noon sounds perfect then!" She said with a bright smile.

"Then I will see you then, but for now I will say my goodbyes. Please, give my regards to the first years for I've stolen you from them for far too long." He said as he eyed them apologetically, still patiently waiting for the Ravenclaw.

"See you later then!" She said with a wave good-bye. Alphard returned the wave before completely turning away from her and walking past the large body of students who parted ways to let him pass by.

Just as he was walking away though he could not help but notice a bright blonde haired Gryffindor running past him at full speed catching up with a Tom Riddle who looked reluctant yet accepting of her presence as she began to speak to him. This made Alphard almost pinch himself. Riddle near a girl? That was new…

* * *

After a few lessons of Herbology, Ancient Runes and Potions Alphard found his way to the Great Hall ready to eat a well deserved dinner. He was famished and it was all his own fault. The wizard was so elated in seeing Odette that he all but forgot to eat lunch before his next classes. Now he was paying the price with a stomach that was so empty he was surprised he could even stand straight. As he turned toward his table he saw his family all there waiting for him, even his sister Walburga was there to grace their presence.

Walburga? Here with us? That could only mean someone was in trouble. Alphard sighed, it was probably him. He just wanted to eat his meal in peace, can't he catch a break today?Alphard finally reached them though before he had the good judgement to run away at full speed. He accepted his fate while closing his eyes, taking a seat next to Cygnus while nodding to everyone else in greeting.

"Evening everyone, I trust you weren't waiting that long for me."

"You have explaining to do, Brother." Walburga said, eyes scrutinizing.

"And just what have I done now, Walburga?" Alphard asked dryly, taking his napkin from the table and placing it on his lap.

"Flirting with a pretty witch without even knowing first her family name? Have you no shame, Alphard?" She accused.

Alphard pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, he knew this was bound to happen but not this soon.

"Walburga…" He warned, eyeing his sister seriously.

"No, I will not have you "Walburga" me. How dare you thwart all of mother and fathers efforts into preparing you for our family by going around throwing yourself at some woman no one here even knows!"

"You have no right to interfere with whom I decide to 'throw' myself to, Sister." He snapped. "You will not see me responding in kind words if you push this subject further."

But Walburga took the challenge, black eyes aflame that her brother knew all to well, she would be anything but quiet.

"You are a Black, Alphard. You are to be the prime example of our family and you ought to act like it. Do you really think shutting me up with be the end of this? No one will accept her, Alphard, especially me. You could have any respectable witch tied around your little finger. Any witch would be lucky to share your name yet here you are giving yourself at some cheap, unworthy dirty-"

"Enough!" His voice boomed. This promptly caused the Slytherin table, and a few of the Ravenclaw students at the next table to turn around to look at Alphard in shock. Walburga was completely taken aback by his brothers outburst.

"If you dare even utter such unkind words about Odette to me you will see yourself cursed." He hissed the last words as if they were poison. "I warn you, do not cross me. I am more than powerful enough to take you down a peg, sister. Do you understand? Or does my wand need to convince you?" He threatened. Walburga was going to protest but no words came out of her mouth, too shocked by Alphard's complete change in character.

"Alphard." Cygnus said, gripping shoulder warningly. "Not here." He said, eyeing the crowd. Alphard continued to stare his sister down, not even breaking eye contact as he lowered his body back down to his seat, adjusting his vest.

"This isn't the end of this, Alphard…" Walburga warned him with a deathly glare before she got up from her seat. "I'm going to sit with my friends for dinner tonight, I fear I soured the mood." She then wished Orion and Druella goodnight before she departed down the table swiftly to sit with her chatty Slytherin girlfriends, not once daring to look back to her family.

After long moment of awkward silence Orion eyed Alphard weary as he stabbed a piece of chicken onto his plate, clearly seething.

"Alphard…" Orion called out softly.

"What." He replied icily. Orion almost winced at the reply. When Alphard was cold he was the ice king himself. Between Cygnus who had a laid back attitude, Alphard looked as if he always carried a heavy burden. He was not to be the one to run the House of Black like his older brother was, he was not like Cygnus who carried more responsibilities. Yet Alphard was always the one who looked the most troubled. Perhaps he had always known, but Orion somewhat always knew that Alphard hated their family name. He would always see him looking at their family tapestry with clear unfathomable hatred. How did it come to this? He wondered. When did his Cousin come to hate so much, that he locked himself away from him and the rest of the ones that loved and cared for him. Though for whatever reason he seemed to have found a girl that could make him happy. See a side of him that for a long time Orion thought didn't even exist.

"…Walburga may hate the idea of this, but I don't… so don't think you're alone." Orion said slowly, waiting for his cousins reaction.

And it was just then, that little glimmer of hope showed that Alphard felt relief by his words. However, that glint was only but a moment, for a cloud of suspicion and confusion smothered that hope all too quickly. Orion wanted to reach out more but he knew he wouldn't reach it no matter how hard he tried. No matter what he could possibly say to him he knew Alphard would find a way to doubt him.

"I've agreed to dine with her in the Great Hall tomorrow at noon, you will not be seeing me eat at my table." Alphard suddenly announced to them dully, taking a bite of his chicken and chewing slowly.

It took a moment for the three Black's to catch up with what Alphard had just dropped like a bomb on them. When they did catch up though though it was met with Orion's mouth agape followed by Cygnus almost spitting out his drink and Druella to even provide a facial expression other than a blank face, shock!

"So… some progress then? Well done Alphy." Druella said in a clear approving tone. Orion nodded with his sister.

"Just be careful, Alphard." Cygnus warned.

"Or what, Cyggy?" Alphard groaned to his brother by nickname. "Don't tell me you still think of her as some sort of monster in disguise still?"

"No, Alphard. I've watched her enough to know she is indeed no such thing. It's just once you drag her into your world she will face many obstacles. Obstacles like our sister… I just want you to be careful for her sake…" Cygnus explained himself.

Alphard lowered his gaze, realizing he judged his brother too quickly.

"I'm sorry Cygnus, I was too harsh…"He then sighed. "No, actually I owe you all an apology. I've been under stress over this for a while. I took out my anger and frustration out on you all and I'm sorry… it was childish of me."

Druella and Orion eyed each other then to their cousin in sympathy.

"Don't worry about it, we should have left you alone about it to begin with." Orion admitted.

"Besides anyone would be under that kind of stress regardless." Druella added.

"We're always on your side, just know you don't have to keep it all in." Cygnus added.

Alphard smiled to his two cousins and brother, but his face turned to scowling again under the reminder there was still his sister to deal with.

"Walburga though…"

"What about Walburga?" Cygnus said.

"She's bound to tell Mom and Dad soon… I don't know how they'll take it."

The group fell silent at the thought. Pollux and Irma Black were one of the most prideful of the Black family. A trait that was easily passed onto Walburga no less. No doubt his sister would not share good thoughts of Odette to them both and most likely they will tell him to break off such a friendship immediately.

"Grandfather wouldn't though!" Orion suddenly said, breaking the silence. "If anyone in the family is willing to listen to you it would be him."

"You are his favorite." Cygnus added. "It wouldn't hurt for you to speak to him first, maybe he can talk sense into Mom and Dad before they decide to pass judgement."

"At least until they meet her for themselves." Druella added.

"Right… well if thats the case I better eat quick and try to get in contact with him tonight." Alphard added. "Walburga would probably send a letter so I think I can beat her."

"Use the fireplace then. You remember that spell you can use to talk through the ashes right?" Orion asked, Alphard nodded. "Good, do that then." He said with a grin.

And with that the group returned to their meal in relative peace.

Meanwhile Odette found herself in quite an odd situation. One minute she was eating alone, the next thing she knew some girl waltzed over to the opposite side of the table and sat down with her tray in front of her. She had blonde hair, crystal blue eyes and face stuffed with what looked like mashed potatoes. She looked to be a little shorter than the Ravenclaw and also had taken note that the stranger was a Gryffindor no less. She chewed her food happily, smiling to Odette in an almost kid like manner. She suddenly stuck her hand out to her to shake.

"Hi there I'm Juliet! Nice to meet you!" She said cheerily.

"…American?" Odette blurted out in confusion as she shook the hand dumbfounded.

"Yup! The only one here apparently. I saw you sitting here alone for the past few weeks and thought it was odd, so, I decided to sit with you instead!" She explained as she took a bite of some salad. "Ooooh they did a good job on these leaves tonight!" She complimented to no on in particular. Odette guessed she was referring to the house elves.

"It's very kind of you to sit with me? Oh, where are my manners I'm Odette." She said, frazzled a bit.

"Pleasure to meet you Odette and don't mention it. It's nice to talk to a girl for once." She said, sighing dramatically. "My closest friends are all boys you know, a girls gotta have an outlet man. Girlfriends to talk with you know?" She clarified, Odette could not help but nod to this complaint in agreement.

"I agree, men can be great friends but they don't always know how to relate to the ongoing's of how we women suffer day to day." She replied.

"Exactly! So I thought we could be best friends!" She said excitingly. Odette almost did a double take at this proposition. Was this girls head on screwed right?

"…Just like that? You don't even know me." She said in slight disbelief.

"I'm known to have a great judge of character you see. Intuition of sorts." The Blonde confidently replied as she patted her chest proud. "And I can tell you are sweet, I think we can be great friends!"

"Well, when you say it like that it's hard to find it unbelievable…" Odette said in wonder. What an odd girl this one is… "You say you have only male friends? What are they like?" The Ravenclaw asked, attempting to start a conversation. Odette knew she wasn't the best at keeping up with conversations and much rather was interested in keeping her thoughts to herself. However, she was curious by this newly formed friendship and was dedicated to try to explore this girl's personality before trying to flee entirely.

"Well, there's Chekov, Robin and finally Tom!" She numbered off. "Chekov's from Russia and he's a Hufflepuff, Robin's from Germany and a Ravenclaw like you and finally there's Tom. He's British like everyone else but he's a Slytherin."

"Wow, you have friends from all over the place huh?" Odette whistled. "I wish I was like that, though people don't find me approachable apparently. I'm shy really…" She admitted. Odette could not understand for the life of her why she was dumping this on someone she just met about ten minutes ago but hey, she proclaimed to be 'best friends' with her now. As they say, do as the Romans do and wing it?

"That's okay, being shy means you're great on one on one conversations anyway and we need people like that in the world." She said as she wolfed down more potatoes. "You're a lot like Tom that way, he's verrryyyy shy. So shy that he tries to pretend to be all dark and brooding to get people away from him." The Gryffindor said while cracking up.

"Does it work?" Odette said smiling with one eyebrow raised.

"Well, not on me if thats what you're wondering." Juliet replied wiggling her brows. "He doesn't convince me at all!"

"That's probably for the best then. A good friend can always see through their other friend's attempt at hiding something." Odette replied wisely.

"…I don't know why people think you're unapproachable, you seem perfectly normal to me." Juliet said, squinting her eyes suspiciously.

"Honestly you have no idea how much of a compliment that means to me…" Odette said in relief with a big smile. Juliet simply laughed.

"Really? Well if thats the case I'll call you average more often!" Odette laughed with her.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" Juliet paused to look at her dish. "You eat food very averagely you know." Odette burst out laughing again. "And the way you laugh? Adequate." Odette tried to cover her mouth but it was proving useless as the Gryffindor continued on with her joking. This caused quite a commotion with her table, who were keen on listening as to what was just so funny. In fact her laughter could be heard all the way to the Slytherin table.

Alphard paused from eating to look up to see Odette. He relaxed upon seeing her laughing so normally with what looked to be a new friend….

wait a minute.

Alphard squinted, eyeing the blonde closely.

Isn't that the same girl that was with Riddle easier today? He thought to himself. The Slytherin turned slightly to see Tom who was no more than a few students down from where he was. What Alphard saw from the other Slytherin though proved to be quiet a surprise to him. He saw as Tom Riddle gaze to the Gryffindor and for the briefest of moments his whole character completely changed. He was practically unrecognizable to Alphard. He looked content, dare he say happy upon seeing the Gryffindor as she laughed merrily. But the Dark Wizard then proceeded to roll his eyes and turn back to his meal, trying to ignore her completely. But Alphard saw it all, and it completely blew him away. He expected many things from Tom Riddle, but to look kindly to a woman as if he was in love? Never. Alphard abruptly turned to Orion, poking him for his attention.

"Orion, I couldn't help but notice earlier that some blonde Gryffindor has been hanging with Riddle as of late. Do you know anything of this?" Orion paused from eating, eyes lighting up at the question.

"Ah, yes, I do know what you're talking about actually! Her names Juliet De La Lune. She's a transfer, American, hangs with the other two transfer students that arrived from being displaced from the Muggle War going on."

"Doesn't De La Lune mean 'of the moon'?" Cygnus asked aloud, attempting to round up his limited French in his mind.

"Alien?" Druella betted questionably.

"Werewolf." Orion betted undoubtably.

"Never mind that!" Alphard interrupted. "Why does she spend time with Riddle?" He asked, completely confused.

"Beats me but I'll tell you this she is something else! The girl is nothing like I've ever seen before let me tell you. I don't know how to explain it but she has this weird way of getting you to let your guard down and getting you to talk about anything and I do mean ANYTHING. It's quite scary actually, not even Tom can avoid it. She's very kind though, very loud, very open, no different from any other Gryffindor really if you think about it." Orion rambled. "I'm honestly more surprised Riddle even allows her to be near him at all. But he seems to be interested in her, though again, I can't know as to why." Alphard scratched his head to this new information, thinking deeply.

Cygnus eyed Riddle from afar, turning back to the group.

"Should we be worried? You all know how I feel about him…"

Alphard eyed his brother carefully. Cygnus has this particular gift of reading 'aura's' if you will. Something about 'clouds that surround the body in colors' was the best his brother could describe. Whether or not it was a magical ability it was beyond any of their comprehension. Regardless, he had not been wrong about anyone he predicted about yet. Any time Cygnus had thought someone was dangerous it was true, any time he believed someone was in love he was right, any time he proclaimed someone was lying it was proved true. It was amazing what this ability of his could do, there was practically no limit to how useful that gift was to everyone in the Black family that's for sure.

So when Cygnus saw Tom for the first time at a Slytherin mixer he became sick, like he was about to puke. When he and Orion got him away from Riddle he remembered how he grabbed Orion, how he looked at him in the eyes with complete fear. Only uttering the words "Red, a thick cloud of red that consumes everything around you…" was enough to send shivers down his spine for weeks.

"Can you see hers, Cyggy?" Alphard replied lowly. Cygnus looked to the girl carefully, only for a surprised look to grace his face.

"Blue… she's… she's Blue." Cygnus then looked confused. "How can that be? There should be Red mixed in as well if she's always with him as you claimed Orion…" He said as he looked to his cousin in confusion.

"Perhaps this girl can't be effected by him? Maybe that would explain their friendship." Druella offered in guess.

"I don't believe it, anything Tom comes in contact with always gets eaten or distorts their own color. I've never seen this before. She's always with him?" He asked Orion again for confirmation. His cousin nodded to him.

"Yeah, almost everyday. I'm almost surprised at how close they are as of late."

"Extraordinary…" Cygnus said in wonder. Alphard twiddled his fingers a bit before tugging on his brothers sleeve.

"Cygnus." Alphard began. "If you don't mind me asking… could you-"

"White." He interrupted, smirking at his younger brother.

"What?"

"Odette's color… it's white, an almost blinding white. It shines the way the sun peaks through the clouds almost, I've never seen such a color before." Cygnus said as he continued to look over in deep thought.

"Oh? She's quite the opposite from you then Cousin of mine." Druella said in an almost smirk. Alphard huffed at that.

Black, of all the colors, his own cloud was black like his own name, that it looked like a storm cloud hanging above him as if it was about to rain. When Cygnus told him this at first he thought he was joking since he was always the one to be called a 'brood" about everything. When he wasn't Orion and Druella made fun of him for it for months on end, calling him "sunny" or blaming him for whenever it rained. Orion's color was yellow, Druella's apparently was violet and Walburga's for some reason was halloween orange. What Cygnus's color was though was a total mystery for him, for he can never see it. Not even in his own reflection.

"Ha Ha Ha, I get it we're practically yin and yang don't rub it in." He said to Druella sarcastically.

"I think it's romantic that the beautiful white princess would dare to love the dark prince of the night~" Druella almost sang in a gag like manner.

"L-love?" Alphard bit out. "Don't be ridiculous woman, we've only just met!" He said, a small blush creeping on his face.

"Now, now, Dru." Cygnus said with a smile. "Don't tease my brother too much now. That's my job, remember?"

"Fine, fine have it your way then." She said with a sigh.

Back at the Ravenclaw table Odette was attempted to balance a spoon on her nose with Juliet who was also struggling herself to apply said instrument on. Apparently they agreed to whoever could balance the longest wins all.

"Aha!" Odette yelled triumphantly, succeeding in getting the spoon to remain on her nose.

"Right behind you!" Juliet said with smirk as she let go of the spoon as it suspended perfectly. "I ain't going down without a fight!"

The Ravenclaw students were a little amazed by this scene. They thought Odette to be this graceful princess of sorts yet here she was balancing a spoon on her nose looking pretty determined to win. Though they looked to the Gryffindor and understood that this particular interaction could only be achieved by one witch alone and it was that De La Lune girl. Rumors had spread far and wide of her antics, especially of the one being so bold as to consider Tom Riddle to be her friend no less. Many had claimed her to be slightly insane, others too friendly for nature to allow. The girl simply did not know of any boundaries so it was no surprise really that the girl decided to make friends now with the new mysterious witch of Hogwarts.

Suddenly a 'clanking' noise could be heard. Juliet looked at her spoon in horror as it landed the table, then to Odette who smiled triumphantly as she took the spoon off her and raised it like a sword in battle.

"I win!" She said with joy. Juliet grabbed her spoon and pointed it towards Odette in frustration.

"Best two out of three!" She yelled, not giving up.

"Pay up." Odette said with a pleased smile as Juliet sighed in defeat, rummaging through her pockets.

The Ravenclaws were surprised. Did they really bet money on this? Who would have thought The pretty witch gambled…

Juliet pulled out three cauldron cakes and handed it to Odette very sadly.

Or not…

"And those were my last ones too…" The Gryffindor said in anguish, about ready to cry. Odette took one from her, leaving Juliet with the other two.

"You can have the other two, I only wanted one anyway." Odette said as she unwrapped the cauldron cake.

"What!? No, no, no, you won so you get to take them!" Juliet protested.

"Nonsense. If I won then I get to do with them as I please and I want you to have them." She said with a smile. "As if I would let my best friend not be without a sweet." She said sincerely. This caused the Gryffindor to tear up, reaching across the table to hug the Ravenclaw abruptly. Naturally this caused many to gasp in surprise.

"You really are an angel!" She yelled in delight. The Ravenclaw simply laughed, patting her new friends back appreciatively. When she let go Juliet proceeded to unwrap a cauldron cake but frowned.

"Darn, they forgot to provide me with a cauldron stirrer." She cursed under her breath. Odette paused from stirring her cake to observe that what she claimed was true.

"Thats too bad. No worries though, I got you covered." Said Odette as she stuck her hand out and waved her pointer finger around the cauldron cake. Soon enough the mixture of the cauldron cake began to churn, mixing the ingredients fully.

"Wow, what amazing magic you possess!" Juliet said, completely delighted.

"You think so?" Odette asked as she continued with her task. " I mean I'm just stirring you know…"

"No not that!" Juliet waved off dismisivly. "Very few Witches or Wizards can do it, wandless magic that is…" Juliet said pointing to her hand. "You didn't even use an incantation!"

"Well I never had a wand before so it's obvious to use my hands." Odette said as she then took a bite of her cauldron cake. This news brought the Gryffindor to lean in close to her with eyes wide as saucers.

"Wait a minute, you don't have a wand!?" She repeated in disbelief, the Ravenclaw nodded. "Why not?! Didn't you ever get one at Olivanders when you were eleven like the rest of us?"

"I was taken abruptly from school when I realized I was to continue with my dance career. I never had a chance to go to Olivander's to get one. Besides, no muggle would understand why I would carry a 'stick' around for no reason so learning wandless magic was pretty much the way to go for me." Odette explained, a bit worried why Juliet was looking to her as if she grew a second head.

"B-b-but to learn without a wand, that must have been so difficult for you!"

"Not really, it was very easy." Odette replied, really confused.

"Easy!? Are you some kind of genius? You're a genius aren't you!" The Gryffindor demanded to know.

"Far from it, I have average grades like most everyone here."

"Then you've been given an incredible gift." Juliet whistled. "The only person I know who can do wandless magic or silent incantations is professor Dumbledore over there and he's… well… ancient." She said, gesturing to the bearded professor speaking with Professor Slughorn.

"Really? I thought it was common…" Odette said in disbelief as she turned to look to Dumbledore.

"Yeah, as common as those who speak parseltongue." Juliet said sarcastically.

"That would explain why everyone jumped in surprise when I helped that poor boy who almost tripped then…" Odette said to herself, she then turned back to Juliet. "Is it really that rare? Wandless magic?"

"I wouldn't call it 'rare' per say, rather you need to be a very dedicated witch or wizard to do it. It takes many years of training, at least that's what I heard." The Gryffindor explained. "Silent incantation is the same, many years of training. Auror's are trained to do that so they have an upper hand when they battle dark wizards… you do know what Auror is right?"

"Yes I've heard of them, they're highly-trained specialist officers right?"

"Bingo. Anyway, guys like that are trained in silent incantations but only the best of the best can be considered for positions like that." Juliet concluded.

"Wow…"

"I know, right? I wanna be an Auror one day so maybe you can give me a few tricks on how to do that next time, yes?" She asked.

Odette simply nodded.

"Great then! In return I'll shower you with Cauldron cakes!" The witch said in bliss.

"I've never been a teacher before… but I'll do my best…" Odette shyly replied.

"You're giving me that shy look again, you worry to much man." Juliet said with a grin.

"Sorry."

"Quit saying sorry."

"Sorr-" Odette quickly covered her mouth, catching herself.

"Now you're getting it!" She said with a hearty laugh. Juliet proceeded to bite into her cauldron cake with great gusto while Odette watched her eat. Again, she could not help but be bewildered by the Gryffindor's presence. She was such an odd ball but was so lovable you could not help but get pulled into her shenanigans. Odette suddenly felt a wave of gratefulness at that moment. She thought for sure she would not make any friends yet here she was, talking to a witch she knew for little under an hour but already treats her as if they've been friends for years. Maybe this was what she needed, a friend who could help her become less shy and become someone who can stand as tall as the witch before her could. That maybe, with time, she too could be more confident in her own skin. Surging with hope, she looked to Juliet who at this point had made a royal mess of her cake and also of her face which was now littered with chocolate stains across her mouth and cheeks.

"Perhaps this year won't be so bad after all…" Odettte whispered to herself with a small smile.

"What was that?" Juliet asked, muffled with her mouth full of cake.

Odette only laughed.

* * *

Wow, that was the longest I've written for a chapter... ever. Why haven't I done this sooner?! Nevermind my ramblings, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Again, give a review, it's really great reading from all you lovely people who decided to stumble upon this and read all the way up to now. To my old friends/reviewers, hi! I didn't die from finals and now it's summer break so yay! To anyone new, hi! I'm embrenn as you know and welcome to the club!

Till next time guys, thanks for reading!


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